Every Single Article Written by N - All 1343
Snap Up A Zune Now, Because Microsoft Will Never Make Them Again
We knew this was coming and now it’s finally here. Officially. Microsoft has secretly unveiled that they will no longer produce Zune-based hardware, instead opting to go with Windows Phone as their platform of choice. It’s been said before, but hearing from the horse’s mouth that there will no longer be Zune PMPs demarcates the end of an era and the tragic death of the best media player ever created with only half a decade under its belt. Read the rest of this article…
iPhone 5: Who Cares?
We’re still hours away from what will probably be Apple Inc’s most important announcement of the year, but I’m making a wager: nothing they go over, no bullet points they unveil, no ‘magical, revolutionary’ features their newest phone has, will prevent them from losing even more mind and marketshare to Android. Their announcement today is a reaction to their steady decline (or really, lack of ascent) with an iterative product. Are you putting money on Cupertino’s biggest deal, because it sure seems quiet here…
Homeland – TV Review – Welcome Home, Marine?
It would’ve been so easy for Homeland to take the easy path; to bank on buzzterms like “PATRIOT Act” and “the War on Terror” when describing the return of Marine Nicolas Brody (Damian Lewis) after being imprisoned by Al Qaeda for eight years. And they don’t – thank God – leaving us to wonder, along with CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), what exactly he was doing over there for so long, and why he’s acting so strangely upon returning home…
What Is Chris Brown’s Problem?
I can’t stand celebrities. No, I’m not talking about Bruce Boxleitner or Max Brooks, I’m talking about Kardashian’s or the Spearses or the Lohan’s. All of this is a lie, of course, because I read The Superficial almost every day and there’s something so addictive about watching these people, through personality flaws, awful parenting, or purely appalling advice from their entourage, melt down so perfectly in such an incredibly public fashion. There is no greater a tragedy of the past few years than Chris Brown, who somehow wins the hearts and affection of so many stupid people despite his violently arrogant personality. But, why can’t he use some of this to his advantage rather than his detriment?
FleshEatingZipper Has A Forum Now!
It’s been a long time coming, but we now finally have a forum! Available from the convenient Forum button up top, you (namely, the reader) can now enter a long-term relationship with us (namely, FleshEatingZipper)! Register today and discuss everything to our articles to World Peace. We look forward to chatting with you and having a great ol’ time, so rush on through today!
Fourteen Hours, Six Star Wars Films, One Epic Marathon
With the recent release of the Star Wars sextilogy on Blu-ray, most normal people are pacing themselves, maybe watching a movie a week or y’know, something sensible. That’s not how we operate here at FleshEatingZipper. After a long day at work, I shotgunned all six Star Wars movies in canonical order, meaning the back half was going to a smooth slide. I also live-blogged the whole ordeal, so my descent into madness has been thoroughly recorded. So without any further ado, let’s begin!
The Fight For Inverted Controls
Maybe it was Halo that caused this whole thing. I remember being in college and having to summon a profile on a foreign Xbox during any number of tournaments and impromptu dorm room matches we had. It was inevitable: there was always some ragging going on because someone had to set sensitivities or invert the vertical aim. Somehow, we “inverted” players have a bad rap and I have no idea why. I honestly don’t even know what the percentage of players are one or the other, but I imagine I’m in the minority since it’s not standard in name or proxy. It only took one game to change me, but I play inverted and I love it. Let me explain my madness…
Battlefield 3 – Xbox 360 Open Beta Impressions
It looks like Electronic Arts is tired of letting Activision hold the monopoly on holiday blockbuster military shooters. It’s not that their Battlefield series has done poorly, it’s sold millions of copies, but it’s also not quite the household name that Call of Duty is. Battlefield 3 marks the franchise’s first major iteration in years and while it’s been primarily PC-based, EA wants to bring the experience to the consoles in a big way as it had previously brought the narrative-driven Bad Company games to that table. As someone who played plenty of 1942 (with Desert Combat) and Battlefield 2, I do have some faith in DICE’s abilities to satisfy. Today the public (read: not merely people who pre-ordered at <specific retailer> and got a code) were given a small slice of the game’s multiplayer mode ahead of its October 25th release date. So how was it?
Halving Holiday Hires, Best Buy Says: Shoppers, Good Luck!
For retail lifers, the holiday season is your dowsing rod on the passage of time. You spend one month gearing up, two months sustaining (enduring, really), and a final month winding down, explaining to customers that you just don’t have that damn thing they’re asking for in stock. Still, as someone who has ten (TEN!) of those under my belt, retail holidays were always something to love and hate, both with similar passions. One important aspect was the part-time holiday help who are much like clay: they can be formed to dispense quick advice, redirect customers, ring people out, or simply thrown down as planks when something gives out, then promptly disposed of by February. They don’t need super intense knowledge, but they are necessary to keep the wheels at the store running in a time of stress. This year, Best Buy announced that they’re cutting their holiday hires by half and will have their standard employees go overtime to make up for it. Well, thankfully I don’t work retail anymore.
Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster – Demo Impressions
Hey, hey! I grew up on the stuff! I was watching Sesame Street loooooong before they put all their eggs in the Elmo basket (Grover FTW, fools). I don’t remember learning a whole lot from it because of the fractured, drawn out way it taught, so maybe I’m a genius because I watched it for years. I don’t know. I’d had my doubts about Double Fine developing the game, not because I didn’t think they could do it, I’ve loved Tim Schafer since Full Throttle, but because I figured this was the bottom. Frankly, none of their games have been successes, much less big ones, and this may be the only way that Double Fine will ever become a household name. So, uh, how’s the game?
